Mary Harris was born in the destitute slums of Cork, Ireland
on August 1, 1837. Like many of their countrymen, the Harris family had
moved to Cork to escape the desperation and dying economy of their
native village, Inchigeelagh. According to documents, the Harris
family held on to a small plot of land in Inchigeelagh, but their
property there most likely only provided them with a few meager
crops, such as potatoes. Like most Irish parishes in the nineteenth
century, Inchigeelagh was populated by Irish Catholics, but most
of the land was owned by English Protestants, whose privileges
allowed them to charge high rents, leading to the impoverishment
of the local population.
Mary Harris and her family spent nearly a decade living
in both Cork and Inchigeelagh. Harris most likely grew up in the
most densely populated part of the city, an overcrowded area of
slums that absorbed the migrants from poverty- stricken rural parishes. While
growing up, Harris witnessed the harsh economic realities resulting
from the growing market economy and the continuous loss of Irish
sovereignty to English dominance. Riots and revolts threatened to
hinder English policies, but resistance was punished harshly. During
the winter of 1821 to 1822, hundreds of desperate men, under the
leaderships of an enigmatic Captain Rock, raided the homes of wealthy
families. The army pursued them, and the Rockites fought back and
eventually dispersed. As a result of this conflict, many Irishmen
were brought to trial, hanged, or deported to Australia. Famine
and poverty increased as a fungus damaged the potato crop, which
was the main source of sustenance for the majority of the Irish
population. The Irish Potato Famine was immensely destructive.
Mass evictions exacerbated the situation, and English efforts to
relieve the starvation were negligible. In 1847, when Mary Harris
was ten years old, her father and her brother left for America,
along with approximately 200,000 emigrants that year alone. Harris's
mother managed to keep the rest of the family alive until they
departed for America in the early 1850s.
Mary's father, Richard Harris, awaited the family in Toronto, Canada,
where he and his son probably worked as laborers for the Canadian
railroads. The children attended Canadian school and continued
to be raised in the Irish Catholic tradition. In fact, one of Mary
Harris's brothers even studied to become a priest. The family's
economic situation improved, and they were able to rent their own
small home. However, Harris's family still had to work hard to provide
for themselves, gardening their small plot of land, and keeping
cows and chickens.
Mary Harris continued her education beyond primary school
by studying to become a teacher. She also learned how to make dresses, a
skill that later became useful. After gaining a certificate from
a priest attesting to her good moral character, Harris was accepted into
the Toronto Normal School in 1857. This accomplishment was rare
for immigrants, especially for Irish Catholics. She studied at this
prestigious school until the spring of 1858, receiving enough education
to be ready for a teaching job at a convent in Monroe, Michigan
in 1859.
Analysis
Although Harris herself attested to being born in 1830,
there is no documentation confirming this date, and it is possible
that she exaggerated her age to better fit her maternal image in
the labor movement. Little is known about Harris's early childhood,
but as she herself attested, her relatives were most likely part
of the poor Irish laboring masses. In her autobiography, Harris
did not devote many pages to describing her early childhood, but
she most likely witnessed the destitution of the countryside and
the urban slums. Many Irish families developed a mythology that
linked them to Irish freedom fighters, but there is no documentation
that attests to the fact that Mary Harris's relatives were engaged
in rebellion against the English. However, Harris probably grew
up with a strong sense of her ethnic and religious heritage, and
with a personal courage strengthened by the tremendous tragedy
and hardships that she had already overcome.
